Author
Topic: Learning to make pizza (Read 2011 times)

I found a recipe for "00" flour and tried it. It turned out very good, but when reading thru the site it seems everyone uses high gluten flour, why?Also, after making numerous pizzas and trying different recipes I still have not mastered the windowpane test. I have read The Bread Baker's Apprentice over and over and can not seem to figure out what am I doing wrong. Please help!

Of all the styles of pizzas discussed on this board, the most popular based on page views is the NY style. Most of our members who favor that style have tended to use high-gluten flours, of which the King Arthur Sir Lancelot brand appears to be the clear favorite at the moment. Until a year or so ago, there was little on the forum on 00 doughs because it was hard to find 00 flours at the retail level or in small bags. The only brands available were the Bel Aria and Delverde brands (and a King Arthur domestic "clone") and a scattering of small, generally unknown brands found in isolated Italian specialty food stores. Now, the Caputo brands of 00 flour are more widely available and favored most by our members. So there is a much greater level of activity on the forum on Neapolitan style than ever before. But not as much as the NY style or the Chicago style.

If you are referring to a 00 dough in the context of windowpaning, it is my experience that most 00 doughs do not lend themselves well to the windowpane test. Hence, I don't use it. Instead I use the same test as I do with all other white-flour doughs and look for a smooth, cohesive dough ball without tears on the outer surface and a bit on the tacky side. As soon as I get that, I stop and don't knead any further.